Bacterial antibiotic resistance has become one of the most important threats to modern health care. Cohen, Science 257:1051-1055 (1992) discloses that infections caused by resistant bacteria frequently result in longer hospital stays, higher mortality and increased cost of treatment. Neu, Science 257:10641073 (1992) discloses that the need for new antibiotics will continue to escalate because bacteria have a remarkable ability to develop resistance to new agents rendering them quickly ineffective.
The present crisis has prompted various efforts to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for bacterial resistance, Coulton et al., Progress in Medicinal Chemistry 31:297-349 (1994) teaches that the widespread use of penicillins and cephalosporins has resulted in the emergence of β lactamases, a family of bacterial enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of the β-lactam ring common to numerous presently used antibiotics. More recently, Dudley, Pharmacotherapy 15: 9S-14S (1995) has disclosed that resistance mediated by β-lactamases is a critical aspect at the core of the development of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Clavulanic acid, which is a metabolite of Streptomyces clavuligerus, and two semi-synthetic inhibitors, sulbactam and tazobactam are presently available semi-synthetic or natural product β-lactamase inhibitors. U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,406, incorporated herein in its entirety, discloses certain synthetic β-lactamase inhibitors.
The availability of only a few β-lactamase inhibitors, however, is insufficient to counter the constantly increasing diversity of β-lactamases, for which a variety of novel and distinct inhibitors has become a necessity. There is, therefore, a need for the ability to identify new β-lactamase inhibitors.
This invention relates to novel beta-lactamase inhibitors and their use against bacterial antibiotic resistance. More particularly, the invention relates to compositions and methods for overcoming bacterial antibiotic resistance.